


Being Human

by Sparrowsverse



Category: Bandom, Empires, Jonas Brothers, The Academy Is...
Genre: Animal Transformation, Bandom - Freeform, Beheading, Ghosts, M/M, Male Slash, Past Character Death, Violence, skippy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-27
Updated: 2013-02-27
Packaged: 2017-12-03 18:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/701524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparrowsverse/pseuds/Sparrowsverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Kevin remembered how he first met Sean, it had just been after Mike...well, after Mike. He wasn’t sure how he had arrived in Chicago, but he was in kitten form and couldn’t get out. One of the sucky things about being a shape shifter, emotions affected his shape shifting. And because he was so depressed, his morphogenetic field decided being a kitten would help him be less depressed.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>It hadn't really. So a kitten he'd remained.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Being Human

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my trope bingo square “Animal Transformation”. Thank you to quintenttsy for the awesome beta! And thank you to Akire_yta for letting me ramble this story at her. :D

Kevin was careful as he jumped up onto the comforter. He normally didn’t do this, but Sean forgot to put out his food and his fresh water last night.

There was a sound of laughter and Kevin stuck out a pink tongue in the direction of the voice before going back to his stalking. Paws swift and silent, Kevin approached his target.

A soft snore greeted his ears and Kevin felt really, really horrible for what he was about to do. He really did. But he was hungry and needs must be met.

“MROW!” Kevin yowled and Sean jerked awake.

“’m awake! ’m awake!” Sean said, clutching his pillow in one hand and a knife in the other. 

Kevin sat on his haunches and licked a paw. He glared up at Sean’s sleepy face. What he wanted to say was, “Feed me.” What came out instead was, “Mrow!”

“O’Malley?” Sean asked, bewildered, and lowered his knife and ran a hand over Kevin’s fuzzy head. “What’s wrong, kitty cat?”

Kevin made a face at the name, because it wasn’t, his name and pawed at Sean’s arm. He wanted food and water and a nap. In that order. 

Sean groaned and started to sink back into the bed. “It’s too early for this, Mal.”

Not to be deterred, Kevin climbed up the comforter so he was wobbling on Sean’s shoulder. He started to knead lightly, t iny claws pricking cloth and skin.

“Ow!” Sean yelped, and moved. Kevin squeaked as he tumbled off and onto the bed. He howled again. “Dammit, O’Malley! Fine, let’s go see what’s wrong.”

Kevin felt very smug as he followed Sean into the kitchen and he stretched up into ghostly fingers that trailed along his long fur.

“Good job, Kevin.” He sent a purr in the direction of the voice and danced around Sean’s feet as Sean looked around.

“I’m such a bad owner,” he moaned as he spied the empty food and water dishes. Kevin made happy noises as Sean filled the water dish with fresh water and the food dish with wet kitten food. Kevin dug in eagerly. He was starving.

“I am so sorry I forgot to feed you last night,” Sean said, scritching the top of Kevin’s furry head. Kevin mrp’d a reply and licked his lips as he finished off the wet food. The sound of the dry food being poured had Kevin’s ears perking up as he hurried forward for more food. “This should tide you over for a bit,” Sean said as he put the food away. “I got caught up hunting a zombie last night with the guys.”

Kevin wrinkled his nose. Zombies were always so messy when they died. Blood and guts everywhere. He remembered one time when Mike...

Kevin froze and sat down on his bottom quickly, stared sadly at his food. He had been doing so well about not thinking about Mike.

He let out a sad meow.

“Hey, what’s with the sad sound, little man?”

Looking up, Kevin squeaked a reply at Sean. Bending down, Sean scooped Kevin up easily and placed him on his shoulder. “I gotcha O’Mally.” he said and started to pet Kevin.

Kevin dug tiny claws in Sean’s t-shirt-clad shoulder and relaxed into the petting. He heard Sean yawn and then everything shifted as Sean moved back to the bedroom.

Ghostly fingers scritched an ear and Kevin flicked his ear at them.

“You’ll be all right, Kev,” the voice said.

Kevin watched Sean pause and look around, as if he just heard the voice.

Sean made an annoyed sound, shook his head and took Kevin back to the bedroom. Kevin knew that Sean was still tired from last night. Kevin watched from the spare pillow as Sean burrowed back under the covers and fell asleep once again. Yawning hugely, he snuggled into the pillow and felt the ghostly fingers touch his fur once again.

He batted at the air.

There was a chuckle. “You know that doesn’t work on me, Kev.”

Kevin lifted his head and glared at the ghostly figure hovering over Sean’s prone form. The figure ran fingers through Sean’s hair and Sean shivered.

“I miss him.”

Kevin’s eyes flicked to the pictures on the dresser of Sean and Tom, then back to Tom’s ghost. Tom’s throat was slashed and punctured, showing how he died. Vampire attack.

Kevin meowed at him.

Tom just smiled sadly at Kevin and went back to watching Sean. Figuring he wasn’t going to get any more attention from either of them, Kevin settled in to sleep.

This was how his days went now. Eat, sleep, hunt, sleep some more. Annoy Sean when he felt like it. He had a good life, maybe not the life he had envisioned, but a good one just the same. Even if he was a pet.

He tried not to think of Mike. But every once in a while, his dreams turned into nightmares and he twitched in his sleep. Tom usually managed to wake him when that happened so Sean wouldn’t be suspicious.

Kevin remembered how he first met Sean; it had just been after Mike...well, after Mike. He wasn’t sure how he had arrived in Chicago, but he was in kitten form and couldn’t get out. One of the sucky things about being a shape-shifter was that his emotions affected his shape-shifting. And because he was so depressed, his morphogenetic field decided being a kitten would help.

It hadn't, really. So a kitten he'd remained.

~~~

Belly low to the floor, Kevin wiggled his way forward, intent on his prey. It was taunting him. Just being out there. It had to pay, and die a vicious death.

He paused as his prey shifted. When it didn't move again, he pounced.

"AUGH!"

Kevin clung to the sock he had sunk his fangs into, and Ryan's large toe.

"Sean, get your damned cat off of me!"

Sean was laughing like a hyena as he tried to pull Kevin off the sock. "O'Malley didn't mean any harm to your sock or your toe, Ryan."

"He does this every time!" Ryan glared at Sean as he pried Kevin off.

Kevin managed to tug the sock off with him. He wiggled his way out of Sean’s hands and took his kill back under the couch.

"Dammit Sean!" Ryan cried out.

Kevin started to nom on the soft cotton. He couldn't help that Ryan's socks smelled and tasted delicious. 

Tom's head popped up from the floor and he was grinning. "Most excellent, Kev."

Kevin radiated smugness as he chewed on his prize.

"Give it back; this is my last clean pair!"

Kevin blinked as Ryan's face appeared in the space between the couch and floor. He wiggled back a bit more just in case, his kill clamped firmly between his teeth.

"Have you not been doing your laundry, Ry?"

Kevin's ears perked up. Max! He liked Max. Especially Max's hair. He liked to curl up in it whenever Max fell asleep over at Sean's.

"We've been too busy with these hunts all over the place for me to do laundry," Ryan growled as he tried to reach for his sock.

"That doesn't sound good," Tom murmured.

Kevin hadn't honestly been paying much attention; the only thing he’d noticed was that Ryan and Max were over more often and Sean was staying out later.

"We need help," Sean said with a sigh. "It's too much right now."

"From who?" Ryan demanded. "Beckett's group is disbanded, Butcher just survived a werewolf mauling."

Kevin's eyes went wide underneath the couch. Butcher...

"Is he...?" Max asked softly.

"Yeah," Ryan answered. "Last I heard Sisky had hauled him to the woods for the full moon."

"What about the Way brothers?" Sean asked.

"Last I heard they had gone down a fairy hill, no one has seen them in months," Ryan said.

"Shit," Sean breathed.

"Gabe's group?" Max asked.

"Taking care of shit out in New York, there's been a rash of child disappearances that they've been investigating," Ryan said.

A chill went down Kevin's spine. He knew most of those groups. Had talked to most of those groups when he and Mike...

"We might have to call..."

"No," Sean's voice cut off Max's. "He just got out of the hospital six months ago and from what I've been hearing, he isn't the most stable right now."

Kevin saw Ryan turn his head away and he took his chance at wriggling away but not before hearing, "He was in a coma for almost a year there, Sean. Give the guy a break. I'd be going nuts if I had just lost..." The rest of the words were lost as Kevin bounded away with his kill, sock clamped between his fangs as he went to where the rest of his prizes had been dumped.

Tom floated after him. "You didn't want to hear the rest?"

Kevin flicked his whiskers, the feline equivalent of a shrug, and dragged his kill under the bed.

It didn't matter. He wasn't a hunter anymore. 

But there was a tiny seed of doubt in Kevin's head later that night when all the others had left for their hunt and he thought about the friends he had left behind.

Butcher, Bill, Sisky, Michael Guy; Gee and Mikey with their weird grins and brotherly telepathy. Gabe who would hit on him every chance he got. The rest of Gabe's group who would cheer him on.

_Mike..._

The next few weeks stretched into Sean coming home later and later, Ryan and Max sleeping here more, complaining about how these hunts were getting more and more ridiculous and they needed help before they made a mistake.

Kevin tried not to worry, he really did. And Tom wasn't helping, giving him these looks like he could do something. He wasn't even sure how much time had passed since he had found Sean in that cemetery and ‘came to’.

Then, one night, Sean didn't come home and Kevin began to worry.  
He paced the length of the front door to the apartment and then went back the other way.

Sean hadn't come home. Neither had Max or Ryan. Both had been sleeping here for the past week and they probably would've slept here tonight as well.

Kevin looked at Tom's floating body and cocked his head to the side.

"We're not exactly the best to mount a rescue, Kev," Tom pointed out. "And I thought you didn't care about hunting."

He didn't. Not really. But Sean was his human.

Kevin flicked his whiskers, signalling his shrug, and Tom sighed.

"All right, let's go rescue some idiots," Tom said with a faint smile. He floated forward and inserted his fingers into the locking mechanism of the door.

There was a popping sound, and then the door swung open. Kevin hurried forward as Tom closed the door.

"This way," Tom said, and Kevin started to follow. 

When Tom had been alive, he had been completely devoted to Sean. They were as close to being soul mates as a couple could be without having sex. 

That always confused Kevin, how they could so close and love one another completely like that and not _be_ together.

Whenever they were asked, they would just shrug and grin secretively. 

But now, in death, Tom could find Sean anywhere.  
It had been a long time since Kevin had gone outside voluntarily. Everything was so big and noisy, and his fur was getting wet from the damp air. 

He was not a happy kitten.

"They better be in some serious trouble here," Kevin complained under his breath as he danced away from puddles.

Tom knew Kevin was just complaining for the sake of complaining. They were both worried about the others.  
Kevin's paws were hurting by the time they arrived at the warehouse Tom had tracked them to.

Why was it always warehouses? Couldn't the forces of evil find someplace nice to inhabit once in a while?

Spying some windows, Tom drifted upwards as Kevin determinedly climbed a stack of boxes to look inside.  
It took him longer than he would've liked, but Kevin made it to the top and peered inside.  
Max, Ryan and Sean were tied up with rope, weapons off to the side, and there was a woman.  
Kevin's tiny heart started to pound in his chest as he stared at the woman. He knew her....  
Flashes of light filled his memories, and a high-pitched laughter.

Then Mike's voice screaming: _Kevin!_

"Kevin!" 

Kevin shook his head and looked up at Tom.

"You were growling," Tom said quietly as he drifted a little until he was face to face with him. "Do you know her?"

Kevin gave a tiny nod of his head.

Tom glanced at the woman and then back to Kevin's fluffed out feline form. "She's bad news, then, I take it."

Kevin gave another tiny nod, and this time a growl. 

He pointed a tiny paw at the woman through the window and then gestured at himself as best as he could.

Tom looked confused. "She did this to you? I thought you were a shape-shifter?"

Kevin gave him a look that clearly stated 'Moron'.

Tom gave his own glare back and thought it over. He snapped his fingers. "She's the one who killed Mike, then." And then he just floated downwards. "Oh shit."

Kevin's claws flexed in the wooden crates and then he eased them back into his paws. He was going to fix this. He just wasn't sure how. No one was getting killed on his watch, not again.

The first order of business was getting inside the warehouse.

Kevin prowled along the ledge that was sticking out, looking for any kitten sized holes.

He had his humans to save.

"Now what are we doing?" Tom muttered, watching worriedly. However this turned out, it was not going to be good.

It was Tom who found a hole for Kevin to fit through. He just drifted his way through the wood as Kevin wiggled his way in.

Looking around, Kevin could see the woman was preparing some sort of spell. What sort, he didn't know, but he knew it wouldn't be good. He stuck to the shadows and corners of the various debris littered around as he slowly made his way forward to where Sean and the others were.

Tom drifted behind, keeping his presence masked so the woman wouldn't sense him. He couldn't be killed as a ghost, but he could be dispersed into tiny, tiny particles that would take forever to gather up. Last time it happened it took two months. And if that happened now, he wouldn't be any help at all.

Kevin inched closer and closer to his prey. He wanted to rip her throat out. Shred his claws against her face. He didn't care how tiny he was right now; he wanted to rend her limb from limb.

She was bent over a wooden table, reading some sort of large tomb. She was distracted, wasn't expecting him. It was the perfect time to strike.

Kevin darted across the warehouse floor and launched himself at her back with a yowl, ignoring Sean, Max and Ryan yelling at him.

He managed to make his way up her clothing as she shrieked in pain, making sure to dig his claws in as he clawed his way up to her throat.

Kevin managed to get his fangs on her throat when some force tore him away. He sailed through the air, yowling in surprise and landed at Sean's feet with a heavy thump and squeak.

 _Owwwwww, my body,_ Kevin groaned as he struggled to get up.

"O'Malley!" Sean yelled.

"Oh crap," Ryan muttered eyes wide as he tried to free his hands.

"How dare you!" the woman shrieked as she stalked forward towards them, small rivulets of blood streaking down her neck from where Kevin had struck.

 _Where was Tom?_ Kevin thought wildly as he struggled to his feet. He needed help and he needed hands. 

The woman paused and tilted her head to the side as she stared at Kevin. "I know you." The fireball she had held in her hand sizzled out as she leaned down to get a good look.

She sniffed in close and Kevin tried to swipe at her nose, but he missed and fell down again.

The woman chuckled. "Aw, did someone fall down?"

Kevin glared up at her and growled.

She made a gesture with her hand, and Kevin let out an undignified noise as he was lifted up into the air.

"Put my cat down, you crazy bitch!" Sean snarled as he struggled in his bonds, trying to get to Kevin.

"Your cat?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow in Sean's direction. "I think not. No, he belongs to another hunter, but he was in different shape then." She leaned in close and her eyes flashed.

Kevin felt something crawling along his entire body and he yowled in pain. 

"Ah, I see, trapped of your own doing," she said, and with another flick of her wrist sent Kevin hurdling against Sean's chest as the magic finished sensing him.

"What are you talking about?" Max asked as calmly as he could, tuning out Sean who was talking to Kevin.

She looked at all of them and then gave a chuckle. "Oh, you don't really know." She grinned at them. "Two hunters came after me, one of them the cat there, though he was human at the time, and another one, M-something. I never bother learning their names. When I killed that one, this one went into shock, the poor dear, and he shifted into the form you see before you."

Sean, Ryan and Max's eyes went wide. They knew that story. They had heard the rumors.

Kevin meowed weakly in Sean's lap. _No. He didn't want the others to know his failure._

 

"I decided to discard of him, teleport him far away," she said, waving her hand in the air. "And now he's here." She narrowed her eyes, lips pursed. "I do not believe in coincidences." She waved her hand again and Kevin was soaring through the air until he was in front of her once again. "I think this time I shall dispose of you properly."

"NO!" Sean yelled. He tried to break free of his bonds, Ryan and Max struggling beside him.

The woman twisted her fingers, and Kevin started to gasp for air as he felt something constricting his throat.

 _NO!_ His paws swiped uselessly at the air.

Suddenly, wind started blow furiously in the warehouse, lights blinking on and off.

"What's this?" she shrieked, looking around wildly.

Kevin felt himself grow weaker.

Tom appeared, but he looked solid. "LET." He blinked out. "HIM." He blinked solid. "GO!" He blinked out and then blinked solid again. Tom raised a hand and the woman shrieked as she was blasted backwards. 

He caught Kevin as Kevin struggled to breathe.

"Tom," Sean whispered.

Tom turned around and placed Kevin in Sean's lap and smiled softly and sweetly at Sean. "Hey. Sorry I'm late, babe."

"Tom," Sean said again and tried to move forward, but the ropes held him back.

"Help should be here in a few seconds," Tom said. He smiled sadly at Sean and leaned forward, pressing a cold kiss to Sean's cheek as he slowly disappeared from view.

"I miss you muchly, dude," Tom's voice carried off into the wind that slowly died.

"TOM!" Sean yelled and then let his head hang forward. "Come back."

There was a cracking sound.

"Sean, I know you're kind of going through some emotional shit right now, but seriously, we need to get free so we can get away from the crazy witch lady," Ryan said, trying to wiggle his hands free.

"Tom said help would be here in a few seconds," Max pointed out, but he was struggling in his bonds as well.

"Well it's been a few fucking seconds and I don't see any," Ryan shouted.

The crates that the witch had landed in suddenly exploded as she freed herself. "Where is the ghost?" she yelled, eyes glowing and hands ablaze as she looked around.

Then just as suddenly, she paused, and looked down to see a blade sticking out of her chest. It disappeared, and she looked up in disbelief.

Blood dribbled from her mouth as there was a swishing sound and a thin line appeared on her neck. Her head severed and her body collapsed to the side.

Behind her, blade in hand and a cold expression on his face, stood Mike Carden. "That was for killing Kevin, you bitch," he snarled.

"Mike," Kevin meowed quietly from Sean's lap. His vision grew dim, and then he passed out.

~~~

Kevin felt his entire body aching before he opened his eyes. Someone was petting his head. 

It felt good, though, and the fingers felt very, very familiar. He let out a little purr and nuzzled up into the hand.

His entire body protested and Kevin let out a yelp of pain, trying to squeeze his eyes tighter.

"Shit, shit, sorry, sorry."

That was Mike's voice. Kevin thought distractedly. And then his entire body froze. _Mike's...voice..._

Kevin's eyes flew open and he saw Mike above him, grinning stupidly at him, unshed tears in his eyes.

"Mike!" Kevin cried out and tried to move again. Which wasn't a good idea, again, as he cried out in pain.

"Hey, fur ball," Mike said, choked up with emotion.

"Mike, Mike, Mike!" Kevin cried out and tried to get closer. Mike just laid his hand flat on top of Kevin's tiny head.

"Hey, you know I don't speak kitty cat," Mike said softly and scritched behind Kevin's tiny, fluffy ears.

Kevin wanted to ask how and why and a bunch of other questions, but the scritching felt so good and so familiar and his body was in a lot of pain. He drifted off slowly to Mike's voice saying, "I'll be here when you wake up."

Mike stared at Kevin's tiny body, hand not leaving the furry head. He glanced up when he heard someone approach him.

"How is he?" Sean asked softly.

"Still in pain," Mike answered, equally soft.

Sean nodded and bit his lip. "Mike, you gotta understand, if I even suspected this was Kevin I would've..."

Mike held up a hand, stopping Sean's babbling. "I know." He scrubbed at his face and sighed.

Sean sat down on the floor and watched the two. The last week, hell the last few months were finally catching up on him.

Finding out his kitten was actually Kevin, a fellow hunter and a known shape-shifter in the right circles.

Tom.

 

Sean was tired.

"I know you didn't know it was him but thanks for looking after him," Mike said, squeezing Sean's shoulder. 

Sean shrugged. "He's my kitten. How could I do any less?" He looked at Mike, bewildered. 

Mike smiled tightly. "How did you find him?"

"He found me," Sean said. "I was hunting a Black dog near a grave yard and out of nowhere, it appeared."

"Kevin?"

"No, the Black dog; Kevin was chasing it," Sean said with a snort of laughter.

Mike wanted to face palm, he really did. Because honestly, that was how he met Kevin, except then it was a vampire and Kevin was human.

"I had never seen anything so strange," Sean continued on. "And then the dog turned, trying to dodge Kevin, and started coming towards me."

"Oh boy," Mike snorted. He could kind of see where this was going.

"I took aim with my gun and took out the Black dog but apparently Kevin was already in mid-pounce or something and he attacked my face," Sean chuckled and leaned in closer to show a small scar on his cheek. "We both went down and I ended up with that as a memento."

Mike snorted at that. "He once threw a knife and it hit my leg," he admitted.

Sean's eyes went wide. "What was he aiming at?”

"A werewolf, but it dodged," Mike said.

"Kevin sounds like he doesn't have any luck there," Sean observed. Most of the stories he heard, they had taken down legions of monsters. But that was just stories; this was reality.

"Sometimes he does," Mike admitted. "But after the werewolf incident, he sulked as a kitten for a week."

That sobered Sean up. "He's been a kitten for almost two years now."

"I know," Mike said softly, and rubbed a finger between Kevin's ears. "He's stuck like this because the change is dependent on emotions and he's spent the last two years thinking I was dead."

That made sense to Sean. He scooted closer.

"How are you holding up?" Mike asked.

"I'm tired," Sean admitted, rubbing at his face. "The last few months have been exhausting, and then seeing Tom, and now Kevin."

"It builds up," Mike acknowledged.

Sean nodded in agreement.

"Plus, everyone is spread out or hurt or disbanded, you hardly have any backup."

Sean snorted. "We had backup, when did that happen?"

Mike chuckled. "Last I heard, Pete found some babies fighting the supernatural, wants to bring them over here for some 'education'."

"Oh good, kids to muck stuff up."

Mike gave him a look. "They've been fighting out there for about four years, according to Pete."

Sean's eyebrows rose. "That long?"

Mike shrugged. "Apparently. Who knows? Right now, I just want to focus on Kevin and get him better."

"We should probably call a vet," Sean offered, looking back at Kevin's tiny body.

"No vets," Mike said firmly. "Kevin is not an animal no matter what shape he's in."

Sean winced.

"Sean?"

"When I first got him, I may have taken him to a vet to make sure everything was okay with him," Sean said, his voice going quieter and quieter. Mike glared at Sean. Sean flinched. "I thought he was a normal kitten!"

"You met him while he was chasing a Black dog, Sean, does that scream normal to you?" Mike gritted out.

"I can only say sorry so many times," Sean bit out.

"Don't say sorry to me, say sorry to Kevin when he wakes up," Mike informed him.

"I know," Sean said, wincing.

Mike sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry, it's just been..."

"Long," Sean finished for him.

"That’s one word for it," Mike said around a yawn.

"Get some sleep, Mike. I'll see about getting some sort of medic or doctor to look over Kevin," Sean promised. "No vets."

Mike pointed at Sean. "No vets."

Sean nodded and left the room. Mike looked at Kevin's prone body. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the fuzzy head. "I missed you so much."

Kevin didn’t answer. 

~~~

The next time Kevin woke it was to more fingers. But these were smaller. Gentler. And there was a female voice above his head saying something.

Then Mike's voice: "Is he going to be okay?"

"He’s cracked some ribs. His back leg is fractured and his throat has almost been crushed," she explained. "Poor guy has been through the wringer."

"Yeah," Mike said softly. 

"I have some salves that should heal him more easily but he needs rest and to keep off that leg," she said. 

"Thanks for doing this, Greta," Mike said.

"No worries, Mike," Greta said. "I'm just glad you two found each other again. You have such beautiful auras together."

Kevin decided that was a perfect time to open his eyes. Greta always had a way of making Mike a bit tongue-tied.

"Mike," Kevin said weakly, but all the others heard was a faint mewl.

Mike was over in an instant. "Hey, I'm here." He petted Kevin's head lightly.

“Mike,” Kevin said again, but this time in relief as he laid his head down on the soft cushion he was. He saw Greta smile at them.

“It’s good to see you again, Kevin,” she said. She ran a finger over his pointed ear and then stood up. She straightened her skirt and gathered her leather bag full of home remedies. “I’ll come by tomorrow to check on your progress.” She nodded at Mike. “Mike.”

“Greta.”

And then she left in a swirl of skirts and curly blond hair.

Mike looked at Kevin. “How much of that did you hear?”

Kevin meowed twice. Whenever Kevin was in kitten form, he’d meow once for no and twice for yes. It was basic communication but it served them well.

“All of it, huh?” Mike sighed. “You take too many risks there, fur ball.”

Kevin looked away. He had been trying to get revenge and save Sean and the others all in one go. He didn’t really care what happened to him in the process. He looked back at Mike and gave him a glare. Mike was one to talk, after all, going up against the witch by himself.

Mike chuckled. “Is that for me and my cowboy ways?”

Kevin glared harder.

"Hey, to be fair, I thought you were dead," Mike said, raising an eyebrow as he ran a finger up the bridge of Kevin's nose. "I wasn't really caring much at that point."

Kevin closed his eyes and shivered. That was no fair. Mike knew all his spots, kitten and human.

Kevin shook his head and winced at the pain before opening his eyes once again and glaring at Mike. He let out one meow.

"No more, huh," Mike chuckled. He looked at Kevin sadly. "I wanna get you human so we can have a proper conversation here."

Kevin flicked his ears at Mike. He wanted that too. But even with Mike in front of him, it was hard to ignore all the time he thought Mike was dead.

Kevin lay back down and let himself enjoy Mike petting him. He had missed this so much. Sean petting him had been nice, but Mike always found the right spots.

He let out a contented purr.

“I missed you so much,” Kevin heard Mike said and he licked the pad of Mike’s finger, letting Mike know he missed him too. He fell asleep to Mike petting him once again.

This continued for a couple of weeks, Greta coming by to check on Kevin’s progress, Mike barely leaving his side, Sean and the others visiting to make sure Kevin was okay.

Kevin hadn’t seen Tom around anywhere. He hoped the ghost was okay. It taken a lot of energy to do what he had done. 

Kevin was healing nicely according to Greta, but he was still very, very sore.

Then one morning, he was sore in an entirely new way.

Kevin woke slowly. Everything felt muted and he couldn’t smell Mike very well and could barely hear anything. Had something happened? He brought a paw up and then froze.

It was a hand. Not a paw and not covered in fur. He had five fingers again.

Kevin rolled over and winced. Everything seemed so much smaller, but he still ached all over. Hands, feet, legs and toes. And he was still in the clothes he wore the night he thought Mike had died.

Kevin wrinkled his nose; his sense of smell might not be the same as when he was a cat, but even he could tell he stank.

“Rise and shine, fur ball, I got some nummy, nummy wet food and water for you,” Mike said as he stepped into the room. When he glanced up, he almost dropped the bowls he had been carrying. “Kevin,” he croaked.

“Mike,” Kevin said hoarsely.

Mike set the bowls on a nearby table and was over in two large strides, getting down to his knees and cupping Kevin’s face. He leaned down and captured Kevin’s lips in a kiss.

Kevin leaned up as much as he could, kissing Mike for all that he was worth.

He had missed this so much.

He felt Mike make a face and pull away slowly.

"I love you muchly, Kev, but you have cat food breath and who knows what else," Mike informed him, making a face.

Kevin pinched Mike's side and he let out a yelp.

"I've been a kitten for, what was it, two years? I have been cleaning myself and eating kitten food," Kevin hissed out, voice hoarse. "Of course my breath is going to stink."

Mike chuckled and kissed Kevin on his cheek. "Let's get you cleaned up, then."

Kevin breathed out and winced when the cracked ribs made themselves known. "Maybe not yet. Trying to get used to everything again," he said softly.

Mike nodded and glanced down. The bandages which had fit Kevin as a kitten were shredded. "We're going to have to rebandage you."

"Mm," Kevin hummed as he tried to get comfortable on the couch. "After my shower."

Mike snorted. "With that leg, I don't think so. Bath."

Kevin made a face.

"Bath," Mike said firmly.

Kevin grumbled under his breath.

Mike gently poked his shoulder. "You've gotten more stubborn."

"Kitten, remember?" Kevin aimed a grin at him.

"Well, you're human right now," Mike pointed out.

"And still stubborn," Kevin chuckled softly.

It was easier to joke around and laugh than think of the two years of loneliness. Better to focus on anything else than think of that.

"Okay, enough rest. Shower, have some food and then you can nap," Mike ordered, poking Kevin once again.

"Bossy, bossy," Kevin sighed but allowed Mike to help him sit up slowly.

Mike helped Kevin to his feet, keeping pressure off one leg and led him to the bathroom.

Kevin cleaned himself up, two years worth of grime and dirt circling the down the drain when Mike finally pulled the stopper and dried Kevin off.

Kevin put on new clothes, and then Mike helped Kevin back to the couch. He set him on the side and pulled the lever to make the seat recline.

Kevin breathed a sigh of relief. "Never knew it was this hard just to have a bath and get changed."

"You got knocked around pretty good," Mike commented as he carefully combed Kevin's curls out.

"Mmm, true," Kevin sighed, letting himself enjoy the pampering. Mike didn't get like this often and it was nice.

Mike finished straightening out Kevin's curls and sat back with a smile. "There. All done."

Kevin smiled at him.

"Think you can handle some toast and juice?" Mike asked.

Kevin made a face. "Not nummy, nummy cat food and water?" he teased lightly.

"No, only kittens get that, humans get toast and juice," Mike answered.

"Then you may fetch me toast and juice," Kevin declared with a wave of his hand.

As soon as Mike was out the room, Kevin deflated. It was hard to act happy and ignore the past couple of years.

They needed a serious talk. And soon.

He could hear the others stirring in the other room and Kevin sighed. He really didn't want to see them.

Kevin just wanted Mike and a patch of sunlight to lie in. He blinked. That wasn't a human thought. Kevin grimaced. Those past two years were starting to make themselves known in a way he couldn’t ignore.

When Mike entered the room with the food, Kevin mustered up a smile.

"We need to talk."

Mike's own smile tightened as he brought the juice and pieces of toast over. "Yeah, I guess we do."

This was not going to be pleasant.

Kevin patted the spot beside him and Mike sat down, handing over a piece of toast, with butter. Kevin started to nibble on it.

"What did you want to talk about?" Mike asked.

Kevin tried not to glare at Mike as he swallowed his pieces of toast. "I think the last two years is a good place to start."

Mike exhaled noisily. "Yeah."

"Sean mentioned you were in a coma?" Kevin asked softly.

Mike nodded. "Last thing I remembered was having fire tossed at me and then waking up in a hospital bed with a doctor telling me it had been a year and I had been in a coma."

Kevin nodded. "That's the last thing I remember too. I remember hearing you scream in pain and then the witch was hurling me against the wall. You were so still and then I went kitten." He looked at Mike with tears in his eyes. "I thought you were dead. She tossed me through a teleportation portal before I could even get to you."

Mike gathered Kevin in a careful hug. "I'm here now," he said softly.

"I know," Kevin sighed. "I landed in some woods outside of Chicago, but I didn't know that at the time. I think I lost myself a little."

Mike wanted to squeeze Kevin, but didn't for fear of injuring Kevin more. Losing himself was one of Kevin's fears. Going feral without knowing himself. Mike liked to think it was a fear all shape-shifters shared.

"The next thing I knew, I was clawing Sean's face and then realizing who he was," Kevin said with a small blush.

Mike pressed a kiss to the top of Kevin's curls.

"I came to and realized I needed to be around people if I wanted to keep myself," Kevin admitted quietly. "It was hard, when all I wanted to do was run away and ignore the world."

Mike kissed the top of Kevin’s head again. “All I could think about was revenge,” Mike admitted. “After physio and finally getting out of the hospital, I went back to the alleyway where we had confronted the witch. I saw the leftover scorch marks. I tried scrying for you and got nothing. I spent the last six months tracking her down to kill her.”

Kevin fisted Mike’s shirt in their embrace.

“I really didn’t care if I lived or died,” Mike said softly.

Kevin nuzzled Mike gently. “Mike.”

“We both thought the other one was dead, but we’re not. We’re both here and we’re not going anywhere,” Mike said fiercely, kissing Kevin on his lips. Once Mike had pulled back, Kevin nodded. 

They were both alive and had found each other. That was all that mattered now.

THE END.


End file.
